1
The word of the LORD came to me:
2
Son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre,
3
and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrance of the sea, and trades with the peoples in many coastlands: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O Tyre, you have said, I am a ship of perfect beauty.
4
Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made your beauty complete.
5
They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6
Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; your deck they made of ivory inlaid in cypress from the coasts of Kittim.
7
Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail; it served as your ensign. Your awning was of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
8
The men of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you, they were your sailors.
9
The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you to repair your damage. All the ships of the sea with their crews were in you to barter for your merchandise.
10
Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army as your soldiers. Shield and helmet hung in you; they gave you splendor.
11
The men of Arvad and your army were on your walls all around, and the men of Gammad were in your towers; they hung their shields on your walls all around; they made your beauty complete.
12
Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth of every kind; they exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.
13
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14
From Beth-togarmah they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.
15
The men of Rhodes traded with you; many coastlands were your market; they brought you ivory tusks and ebony as tribute.
16
Edom traded with you because of the abundance of your goods; they exchanged emeralds, purple cloth, embroidered garments, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.
17
Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat of Minnith, balm, honey, oil, and resin for your merchandise.
18
Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your goods, because of all your great wealth. Wine from Helbon, wool from Sahar,
19
and wine from Uzal they exchanged for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were among your merchandise.
20
Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding horses.
21
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they traded with you.
22
The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged the best of all spices, and all precious stones, and gold for your wares.
23
Haran, Canneh, Eden, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.
24
They traded in your markets with garments of finest quality, with cloths of blue, embroidered work, and with multicolored carpets and cords of twisted thread, strong and secure.
25
The ships of Tarshish carried these goods for you.
Filled with heavy cargo, you were in the heart of the seas.
26
Your rowers brought you out into the great waters. But the east wind broke you in the heart of the seas.
27
Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your repairmen and your merchants, and all your men of war who were in you, yes, with all your company that was in your midst, sank in the seas on the day of your ruin.
28
At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside trembled.
29
All who handled the oar came down from their ships. The mariners and all the sailors went ashore.
30
They raised a loud lament over you, and cried bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and rolled in the ashes.
31
They made themselves bald for you and girded themselves with sackcloth; they wept for you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.
32
In their wailing for you they took up a lament and said: Who is like Tyre, who has been destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33
When your goods came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with the abundance of your wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.
34
Now you are broken and brought to an end from the seas; you have sunk in the depths of the waters, and your merchandise and all your company have fallen with you.
35
All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder, their faces are troubled.
36
The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; your end has come to a dreadful pass, and you are no more forever.
💎🚢⚓ Summary of Ezekiel 27 – A Lament for Tyre: The Trading City That Sank
Ezekiel 27 is a lament over the fall of the city of Tyre, one of the richest and most splendid centers of trade in the ancient world. The city is portrayed as a luxurious ship filled with costly goods and skilled sailors. Yet because of its pride and reliance on wealth, Tyre sank like a wrecked ship, becoming a symbol that earthly glory does not guarantee survival.
📌 1. The Beauty & Splendor of Tyre (verses 1–11)
➡️ The Lord commanded Ezekiel to lament over Tyre, which had once been magnificent
➡️ The city is described like a beautiful ship made of the finest wood, with sails of Egyptian linen, and skilled rowers
➡️ Sailors from all over the world served Tyre — this city was an ancient center of globalization
🎯 Outward splendor is no guarantee of inner strength or true security.
📌 2. Tyre’s Global Trade (verses 12–25)
➡️ A long list of nations and commodities:
- Tarshish: silver, iron, tin
- Javan, Tubal, Meshech: slaves & bronze
- Dedan: hides
- Arabia and Kedar: sheep
- Sheba and Raamah: spices
➡️ All nations traded with Tyre — this city became a symbol of the world’s prosperity
🎯 Wealth without faith only builds a kingdom on sand.
📌 3. The Fall Like a Sinking Ship (verses 26–36)
➡️ The east wind (a symbol of Babylon) struck Tyre’s ship
➡️ All its wealth, sailors, and ship sank to the bottom of the sea
➡️ The nations trembled and stood silent, watching its downfall
➡️ Tyre became a terror and an astonishment — erased from the map of history
🎯 Even a magnificent ship can sink — if God is no longer its main anchor.
📖 Main Teaching
- A city or nation that boasts in wealth and trade more than in God will fall
- Worldly prosperity can make people forget themselves and forget their dependence on God
- God is not concerned only with formal worship, but also with the heart and the sincerity of the nations
- Riches, skill, and international connections cannot save one from the wrath of God
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
📖 1 Timothy 6:17
“Do not set your hope on uncertain riches, but on God.”
➡️ Tyre is a symbol of a city that hoped in riches — and was swallowed up by them.
📖 Matthew 6:19–21
“Treasures on earth can vanish… but treasures in heaven endure forever.”
➡️ Tyre gathered earthly wealth — but had no eternity.
📖 Revelation 18:11–17
“The merchants of the world weep over Babylon’s fall… because all her splendor vanished in an instant.”
➡️ Tyre in Ezekiel is an early picture of spiritual Babylon in Revelation.
📖 Luke 12:20
“You fool, this very night your life will be taken.”
➡️ The Lord warns those who store up riches but are poor before God.
🕊️ “Tyre, you said: I am perfect in beauty!” – Ezekiel 27:3
🕊️ “Your wealth, your goods, your crew… fell into the sea.” – Ezekiel 27:27
🕊️ “The people of the land trembled… they were greatly astonished.” – Ezekiel 27:35
🕊️ “You have come to nothing at all…” – Ezekiel 27:36
